Cabot's Aquadeck

We used this in our deck and patio business for 13 years. Always applied 3 coats and our customers loved the finish, and I know many of them kept on using the Aquadeck. Usually on Merbau or darker decking we used Merbau coloured Aquadeck. If it was a lighter timber we would use a darker tint. Would apply the 3 coats in one day, except in winter we… Read more ·  1

would do it over 3-4 days, but never had a sticky or tacky finish; for 9 months of the year walk on it next day. Some suppliers use a pre-oil on their decking, make sure it is all thoroughly washed off with a suitable broom and water 2 or 3 times followed by a good deck wash. You can make up your own deck wash using Oxalic acid, as per most deck washes. If no roof over deck, you will need to thoroughly wash and re-oil every 15-18 months, if not exposed to full afternoon sun life of finish might be 3 to 5 years.

This product looks ok when first goes on but does not last well. We are in process of stripping it off using another company’s very expensive stripping product. The stuff coming off looks like cheap acrylic paint Don’t waste your money! Show details

No issues at all - be careful with the negative reviews and apply exactly as Cabot say – I read a lot of the reviews on here about Cabot's Aquadeck, and to be honest, I was going to return it to Bunning's and exchange it - however, I decided to do all the right things and prep well and follow the instructions pretty much exactly as described by Cabot's. I used the Cabot's Deck Wash first and scrubbed with their deck brush - I just… Read more ·  1

bought their entire kit so had their bucked, deck brush, handle with lambs wool applicator - just to make it easy; scrubbing is not a great job but it had to be done, and on our deck some areas needed a fine grit sanding block going old school on my hands and knees to remove the old broken down oil and some mildew - wasn't much so wasn't that hard - the whole deck didn't need that treatment or sanding. I let the deck sit overnight after the deck wash and allowed it to dry out until mid morning the next day to ensure nil moisture from overnight still in the timber, then gave a quick sweep to remove any loose material or leaves/dust etc; triple layered the masking tape around the deck to protect the painted surfaces (trust me, triple layer it - single layer allows the oil to seep through and mark the paint) and used the recommended lambs wool applicator - went on easily and wasn't that hard - yeh it isn't a fun way to spend a Sunday but I started around 10am and was done with the second coat and finished around 2:30pm - allowed a solid 1.5 hours between first and second coat - as Cabot's state, it will remain tacky for quite a few days - we are now at Day 4 and it is starting to feel less tacky and has dried nicely - cannot see what people are talking about with it not drying - just don't go mad with the application and have it dripping everywhere! We had rain, unfortunately, just about 24 hours after I applied it and it had no effect at all on the oiling - still looks great. I also applied the coating in pretty decent Qld weather - sunny and mid high 20's - so drying was in my favour. Overall, really happy with the product and how it has turned out - will now see how long it lasts - out of interest, I used the Cabot's Aquadeck Merbau oil. Price wise it is reasonable, cheaper than some of the others but definitely more expensive than the basic deck oils. Good Luck - it sucks, but has to be done.

Love this product – I bought an ex display home that had not had the deck touched in over four years. I know what type of product this particular building company uses as they use it on all of their display homes. It comes in the manual of the house. For obvious reasons i won’t be naming the builder or product. I got a quote from a professional to sand and stain our… Read more

deck and it came in at $7,000. Out of my budget so I purchased a small hand sander and spent a couple of weekends sanding. It was very tedious and hard to remove the previous product which was oil based and more like a lacquer than an oil. Our deck is made up of two types of wood. Pine ( cheaply done for display homes) and one part is hardwood ( a seating area feature they thought the new owners would want to keep) . After months of research asking people we knew in the building game we got every answer imaginable. I was totally confused. I certainly didn’t want to ever have to sand again. So after much deliberation I went to Bunnings and purchased Aqua Deck. It was the best decision ever. We have been living here six years now. I do the deck annually with aqua deck in merbau. We replaced some rotten boards and they initially looked more orange when first stained. Several years on they have darkened and my deck looks just as good as the day I first did it. I don’t understand the tackiness people speak of. Mine is always runny. Yes it does dribble down the sides but that just means you’ve put to much on your applicator. It applies very easily with a brush and touch dry with in the hour. It does say you can walk on it but I leave it the full seven days to cure. I have walked on it in the past earlier than seven days and it appears to go dull a lot quicker. Personally I love aqua deck. My rule of thumb is when water stops beading on my decking boards I know it’s time for another coat. It’s also easy to clean up being water based. Like anything preparation is essential and proper use of the product will give you amazing results.

Still tacky after 5 days drying – I had to replace all my existing pine decking timber, so chose a product called Southern Pine 90mm decking - great product and dry when delivered. I applied 1 coat Aquadeck Merbau to all surfaces before installation.Colour looked good and dried and set virtually within a couple of hours. After installing decking I then applied 2 coats more within… Read more

1.5 hours of each coat (1 hr recommended between coats), in 23 degrees sunny day. Deck is mostly covered from elements - had some light rain after 2 days and now 5 days later deck is still tacky to walk on with joggers, or if you leave a towel, the fluff sticks to the deck. I know it says 7 days to full cure, but to me this is not looking promising - after 3 cans and about $240, I expected much better performance from such a well known product. I am confident I applied the coats correctly (with lambswool pad) and all in accordance with your instructions. I am very disappointed with this product and only wish I had read some of these responses before purchasing as I certainly would have chosen another brand/system. Here's hoping after another week or so my deck might be dry and I can replace furniture etc. Any response or advice would be well received. Any inspection would be welcome.

Happy with the product overall – I applied 2 coats of aquadeck to my newly sanded and cleaned deck. While I'm very happy with the colour and it did take a few days for the tackiness to go away, I'm now finding that any time anyone walks on it, their dusty footprints are left behind and now it needs sweeping every day or needs a once over with a damp cloth. Will this go away eventually?? Show reply

Works and looks great – I have used Aquadeck a lot over the years. It makes the timber steps look great everytime. Lasts for years and so easy to reapply. It is never tacky but I usually leave it a few hours after the second coat. Some of the reviews make me think they are using a different product. Never had any issues with this product. Show details ·  1

Not a bad product at all – Used it a few times and haven't had any issues. Pretty hardy stuff, protects the timber quite well. My deck is more than 6 years old and it's still in good condition, gets a lot of foot traffic but stain has held up. Show details ·  1

Waste of time and money – Terrible, I did follows the instructions as per label on the can. This product does not dry even after two weeks, the weather is an average of 27 degree and 65 humidity for more than three weeks. If you stay on the deck more than one minute you hardly can lift your feet. The furniture is stuck on the deck and cannot be moved. I suggest triple CCC… Read more

to investigate the company and remove this product from the shelves. It's a rip off as it cost money and time. DON'T USE THIS PRODUCT AT ALL.

waste of money and time – I paid $80.90 for 4L Cabot's Aquadeck paint for my deck. It was water base but actually, it is basically water. My dad spent time cleaning the deck and putting this paint on but it only lasted a couple of weeks. I hope more people can see my comment to save their money and time. it claimed it lasts 2x longer. What a shame! Show details

Terrible product – This is more paint than stain. Used it on my new kwila deck and it ruined it. Doesn't absorb into the timber and looks like a bad paint. DO NOT USE ON KWILA Show details

Deck oil – Just ok to use I recommend Intergrain product top of this

Cabots Decking Oil vs Aquadeck – I have used Cabots Natural Decking Oil for many years and changed to Aquadeck for my latest maintenance on it - as it was meant to be better Unlike the decking oil which soaks in and blends then fades naturally, the Aquadeck has stained the deck and you can see brush strokes in some spots.. my wood has also really dried out as well Overall I… Read more

wished stuck with the Cabot decking oil as I've been quite disappointed with this product that had so much positive hype

Fake tan and mold – Used on Siberian larch beautiful decking that was left to dry and new timber prepped used the deck wash 2 coats completely spoiler the beautiful timber with its fake tan colouring nothing natural about it 2 weeks later and 24 hrs after a bit of rain and we have black mold all over even though it's got a roof over it terrible product Show details

Orange hard film, not oil – I bought this because the tub had Decking Oil written on it. It is not oil and doesn't behave like oil. It creates a hard surface. Unnatural orangey colour. I followed Cabot's prep instructions perfectly and used their products, on dry mid-twenty degree days. I've been quoted $1200 to have it removed. Avoid.

Flimsy acrylic membrane which will ruin your deck – This stuff is not as nice as a decking oil thats for sure. I will sand it off in 12 months and never look back to the cabots brands again. Addit: 24 hours post application. Despite using exactly as directed on label, despite having bought all the cabots branded cleaners and lamb mop etc, despite Cabots website saying "perfect" conditions for… Read more

deck treatment: Multiple planks have buckled severely and become a trip hazard. I need to replace actual components of the deck. Yowch, this Aquadeck was an expensive mistake.

Addit: 3 years later. Replaced a number of planks which buckled after application but Cabots Aquadeck didn't weather as bad as I thought it would, and we did set record rainfall over those years. Doesn't change the fact that the finish is disgusting and its all coming off so I can use the premium stuff by the company started in the Netherlands in 1792. Happy decking and I recommend avoid Cabots at all costs.

Terrible experience – Bought a tin of caboots natural deck oil. While applying, it does give a wet looks. After 12hrs , it still very tacky to walk on. It was a hot day. There are lots of bubbles in some areas. Didn’t have any of these problems with previous Feast Watson oil deck. Super annoying. Really regret buying this from Bunnings.Written on their container… Read more

saying it’s fast drying , recoat in 6hrs .Misleading . Waste of time and money. Will not buy this brand again.

Poor product poor response – Bought a tin of FeastWatson stain colour Swan River Jarrah.It was not colouring the timber with several coats and was insipid and nothing like Jarrah. I contacted Cabots (FeastWatson) and suggested they test their product, No Response Show details

worked well – happy with result; bit tacky for a few weeks but that effect settled down; used their applicator and buckets and followed directions. parts of deck were more exposed and had extra sunlight and so wood dried out more and needed additional coatings which absorbed and matched rest of desk Show details ·  1

Not great – I have used the cabots natural decking oil in the past and thought I’d try the aqua deck as it says “twice as long” and it was also $10 more expensive than The natural decking oil which I normally get. After applying it, it didn’t look at nice of a stain as the natural decking oil. It’s been 2 months now since application and it’s starting to look dull already. Wouldn’t recommend this. Stick with the Cabots natural decking oil.

a product that seems to work as it should – I have two decks, one has had Aquadeck Merbau applied in two events, each 3 years apart. North facing centra Victoria where it is utterly baked in summer and frozen often in winter. This year a second deck constructed, and first coat just applied today (11/05/20) as its above tenC. The product is terrific, I don't know if oil would be better and I… Read more

don't really care. The negative comments not his site - especially using pine - SURELY you'd do a test first instead of slinging the manufacturer. Surely.

Avoid at all costs – Applied two coats after going through all the steps for treating and preparing a new deck. Used all Cabots applicators etc. After only 4 months the deck looks worn and the coating is coming up and looks terrible. Spent two days cleaning and re-sanding to apply a tradition oil that looks 100 times better. Aquadeck looks cheap and tacky in comparison. Show details